Don Quixote

Beginning in 1957 and continuing on-and-off for the next 15 years, Welles self-financed and directed an audacious film version of Cervantes' Don Quixote that brought the legendary knight and his rotund aide Sancho Panza out of 16th century Andalusia and into the world of modern Spain. Much of this work was considered lost ... and the footage that remained was not properly stored. However, throughout the 80s and early 90s the Spanish filmmakers Jess Franco and Patxi Irigoyen tracked down nearly all of the surviving footage, finished the incomplete soundtrack based on Welles' notes, restored the footage where they could and offered a reconstructed Don Quixote de Orson Welles in 1992…. The film presents a very special side of Welles, showing his ability to take chances that none of his peers would ever dare to dream.